We (at Pixel Lab) have mixed feelings today as we wish our friend and colleague Derek Lakin the best of luck in his new role at Microsoft. We’re a really small group and losing someone as talented as Derek is hard. He makes an amazing contribution to the team. Mostly, however, he’s become a great friend and it won’t be the same around here without him. On a brighter note, Derek will be on the Skype team at Microsoft in Stockholm and I’ve volunteered to be a frequent source of testing. Hopefully that means we stay in touch! Still, the best ... More →

For my future self and the rest of you who may need it at some point in your JavaScript developer life, here is a list of the US States and Territories in JavaScript object notation, sometimes lovingly referred to as JSON. This is it.  An internet bookmark for JSON states. Really, I just don’t want to go through formatting this again.  I think this was my second time actually… var usStates = [ { name: 'ALABAMA', abbreviation: 'AL'}, { name: 'ALASKA', abbreviation: 'AK'}, { name: 'AMERICAN SAMOA', abbreviation: 'AS'}, { ... More →

I will be speaking at the Stir Trek conference  on May 4th, covering Blend for HTML.  This is the latest incarnation of Blend now rebuilt to support HTML, JavaScript and CSS. They’ve done a killer job and I’m excited to share how the application makes building WinJS Metro style apps a great experience. Check out my retro circus style announcement for the session: Come and see the most marvelous, novel and thrilling Windows 8 design tool ever before displayed under Canvas, in fact ever seen anywhere. Watch in awe, while the Interactive Mode transports you from scripting web pages to building web apps ... More →

Manifesto is kind of an old fashioned word. I started flirting with it because of Paper (the app). I’ve been a little obsessed with Paper, both the product and the process that made it. If you haven’t seen it, Paper is an iPad app for sketching. It’s probably only 20% different than a dozen other apps but it’s 1000% better. Just about everyone agrees. They’ve sold 1.5 Million copies in 2 weeks, The Verge started reviewing styluses and Amazon ran out of them (for a few days at least). We’re all buying styluses now, mostly because of one app. What makes it ... More →

Disclaimer: I am an independent Windows 8 developer who used to work for Microsoft. My family uses Windows PCs and iOS devices. When working on HTML5 projects I sometimes use a Mac to develop. Its crazy, I know. There has been a lot of talk about the lack of a Start button in Windows 8.  Or more accurately, a statically placed visual icon in the Desktop app which the user can click on to return to the Start screen. What happens if the user is in the Desktop app and moves there mouse into the same area, perhaps even driven by muscle memory?  A little thumbnail ... More →

When I worked at Microsoft on the WPF team, my job was to manage (“project manage” that is) the controls team. We (at least thought we) were an important team. Controls are big deal, a huge part of what UI framework does. The other half of the WPF team was the Documents Team and for those guys, controls were kind of an after thought. You don’t really need controls in document platforms. Until a few years ago, we all thought the web was more like the Documents team than the UI team but things are changing quickly and today we think ... More →

As a result of the WinJS AppBarIcons post yesterday, I’ve received a fair number of requests asking to see how this compares to what’s available for XAML-based projects. The results are in, but they don’t quite stack up. Download the full image There are currently 29 options compared to the 150 options in WinJS.  Additionally some of the names and icons conflict or are used in different ways.  I’m hoping this is ironed out before the full Windows 8 release. Instead of a property, the appearance of the Button is set via a Style where the name of the icon is used as a prefix to ... More →

Download the full image While digging into the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, I found that AppBar buttons are now defined by using the AppBarCommand object which has an icon property. In order to work, the string value must be set to a property of WinJS.UI.AppBarIcon or a custom PNG. Sample code: <button data-win-control="WinJS.UI.AppBarCommand" data-win-options="{icon:'back', label:'Back'}"> <button> This is wonderful functionality providing for both custom icons and 150 existing icons using the Segoe UI Symbol font.  Genius, now where is the list of available icons? Oh, I see, there isn’t one available yet.  Ok, I’ll just make one for myself and my friends. Enjoy.

From fahrenheit to celsius in Windows 8 Weather app from Adam Kinney on Vimeo. This is a very short screen capture on how to change the settings of the Weather app in Windows 8 to use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. Useful for those who want to make the change, but also indicative of the broader concept – Windows 8 is new, like really new. Now that you’ve learned to use the Settings charm, you will find it in the same spot every time. And any development team who take the time to follow the pattern will have happy non-confused users. This is fresh ... More →

tl;dr: Go to this form and donate $20 to an amazing cause. Show up at Office Nomads on Thursday, Feb 23 at 6:30pm. Learn Git.What: a workshop to get people productive with Git.Why:Git is an amazing tool to manage and collaborate on text content -- source code, html, javascript, etc.Giving money to United Republic is a great way to get involved in the political process and fight the influence of money in our democracy.Where:Office Nomads1617 Boylston Ave, Seattle, WA 98122When:Thursday, Feb 23, 2012.6:30pm.Doors open at 6:15.We'll start right at 6:30. Don't be late.How much: $20. Donate here.What to bring:Your laptop.Windows - install Git Extensions. Use the latest "Setup ... More →